Kuro Mimi Haiiro Shippo
by Leeres Liben
Summary: The streets have always been my home. I've always had trouble with my emotions, but thanks to a weird gray cat and a gaudy pink cafe, my life has become so much better and worse at the same time. It's alright though, because with my ears, I think Tokyo will be safe!
1. Setting off

"Well fine then! See if I care! I am so sick of you blaming me for everything that goes wrong in your life! I don't need you!" a livid voice shouted, before a door slamming was heard.

_My name is Midoyama Taiga. I'm a seventeen year old third year at St. Mellorin High. It's an all-girls school, that's mostly dedicated to the fine arts; acting, dancing, singing, culinary, and artistry. My mother enrolled me into the school, because of my passion for singing. It's really just a hobby, but my mother thought otherwise. Singing to me, was just a form of release from all of my trauma and stress._

_I'm the youngest of two; an older sister and an older brother. They're already gone and living their lives; my sister grew up to be an archeologist, while my brother is working on becoming a CEO of a large company. I'm still deciding on what I want to do…_

_I'm a bit of a ruffian; I pick fights with the local street thugs and I have no problems beating up a bunch of goons. I used to be a leader of a gang called 'Kuro Paw', but I gave up the position to one of my underlings. They still help me out in a bind, but they mostly keep to themselves. _

_Recently, I haven't been living the best of life. My mother and I have been at each other's throats for almost a year now. It basically began when my father left us; he claimed mother was being unproductive and had lost the spark in her that attracted him to her. Mother soon began drinking, and started coming home drunk, arguing with me and blaming me for why father left. Eventually, I got tired, so I left. I'm currently roaming the streets, sleeping where ever I can…_

"Oi! You got a problem, huh punk?!" I shouted, my fists curled by my side. Some street thug had decided to bump into me, fully knocking me over.

"What'er you gonna do girlie? Break a nail?" the thug taunted me. I huffed, and in the middle of him laughing, I punched him in the jaw, knocking a few of his teeth out. He toppled over and fell into a trashcan, knocking its contents over him. I shook my fist out, it stung a little, but I paid no mind to it. I picked him up and punched him right in the nose, effectively breaking it and causing a nosebleed.

"You fuckin bitch! You broke my fuckin nose! And my jaw!" he spurted angrily.

I scoffed, "Yeah well, you shouldn't have mocked me," before I stomped on his face, knocking him out and leaving a nice shoe print. I patted my skirt off and picked up my duffle bag; an orange, red and maroon camouflaged bag that held all my things I needed for my pitiable life.

"I'm fricken hungry…" I grumbled, as my stomach gurgled. I had been walking for a while, before I noticed a sign that read 'HELP WANTED; LOOKING FOR JOB APPLICANTS'. I turned to the afformentioned building; it was a gaudy pink one, shaped into a castle-like cake. The windows were heart-shaped, and it was giving me an overall cute-vibe.

'_Work is work…no matter how gaudy and cute it may be.' _I lamented. I walked into the building and was greeted by a happy "Welcome to Café Mew Mew!" from three girls around my age. I fingered my bandage nervously.

"Thanks, uh, I saw the sign out front, and I was wondering who I talk to for an application?" I awkwardly asked. Their overly-cheery faces were making me a little nervous. I never was around a lot of smiling people.

A girl with red hair smiled at me. "Wait right here, I'll go get Ryou and Keiichiro!" She ran off towards the back, while the other two girls; one with green hair and a shorter one that looked like she was twelve, took me to a three-seated table.

"So Onee-chan, why do you look so scary?" The kid asked me.

I frowned at 'scary' but got over it. I have two bandages on my face; one above my left eyebrow and one under my right eye. My older sister, Akame, used to poke fun at me, saying I have a piercing gaze, like an angry tiger, crouched-ready to pounce. I also always have a constant scowl on my face. I sighed.

"I used to fight a lot kid. So that's probably why I have such a scary look. Sorry if I scare you." I said honestly. She just giggled, "I'm not scared of you Onee-chan! Minto-nee makes scary faces all the time, so you're less scary than her!"

I cracked a small smirk at the honest compliment. I could tell the green-haired girl was staring at my hair. "Curious? It's a really weird medical condition. I was born with a few white stripes in my otherwise black hair. The doctors said it was called 'Poliosis'…"

Just then, the red-haired girl came back with two men. The blonde haired one approached me. He kind of looked crossed. '_A fellow scowler…great.' _I sighed internally.

"Hey. Are you the girl Ichigo told me about?" he asked.

My eyebrow twitched. "Yeah, names Midoyama Taiga…you're..?"

"Shirogane Ryou; your new boss. I hear you're from St. Mellorine. Any good at cooking?" he shot back.

I smirked. "The school isn't top notch because its arts are shabby. Try me." I said as I stood up and stared directly into his eyes; aqua clashing with topaz.

We had an internal face off for a while. He blinked, and nodded towards Keiichiro. "Nice to meet you, you'll be working with me from now on in the kitchen!" he said, a smile on his face. I smiled, but the smile was quickly replaced by a glare, as I kicked a flying brick out from hitting his face. The girls and the other customers were shocked, but soon began screaming.

"There's the damn bitch who fucked my face up! Getter boys!" a faintly familiar voice exclaimed.

I whirled around to find the earlier punk I beat up, surrounded by five other men, all equipped with various weapons; bats, pipes, chains, and some wooden planks.

I cringed. '_One good hit and I'm done for…' _I looked behind me; Ichigo and her friends were ushering the customers out the kitchen doors. Ryou was staring at me, before he followed the green-haired girl into the kitchen. I heard the faintest sounds of a cart being pushed and the sound of a door closing. The scared voices of the customers were near the entrance.

I looked back at the small gang. "Looks like yer friends left yer scary ass!" the punk with the chains taunted. "Hahaha, I bet yer win against Boss was just a fluke! Yer in the girliest place in Tokyo!" his pipe-wielding friend taunted.

I stood up straight, rolled my neck and popped my shoulders. "Ehh? Wanna repeat that shit again, ya shitty punk!" I said, as my eye lowered into angry slits. I was glaring at the five. "Hows about you street jerks come at me at once!"

This seemed to agitate them, as they all decided to swarm me. The two holding bats decided to swing at me at the same time, but I ducked under them, which caused them both to smack each other in the faces. I then rose up and upper-cut them, knocking them out.

"What are ya shitty morons doin?! Yer lettin a girl kick your asses!" he fumed.

The one holding a pipe swung at me, but missed. He went to swing again, this time landing a hit. The pipe connected with my stomach, and temporarily knocked the wind out me, but I quickly shook it off and lunged at him. I had grabbed his shoulders and tackled him, before I punched him in the face several times, before I could land the final hit, the one with the chains wrapped it around my neck, choking me and dragging me along. I clawed furiously at the chains, not seeing a plank connect with my head.

I screamed, feeling blood run down my face. I felt the one holding the planks near my legs, so I kicked him in the prized jewels. He fell down, winded, and I took the chance to grab a piece of the, now splintered plank, and jabbed a piece into the chain-punk's leg. He cursed, and released the chains long enough for me to escape.

I picked up the chains and smacked them both with the chains, putting them both down and out. I was standing up, albit shakily. I closed one eye; blood had seeped into it.

"Now…you're gonna leave this establishment, before I really beat your ass…Remember me; Midoyama Taiga! Former leader of Kuro Paw!" I shouted angrily.

His face had drained of all color. "K-Kuro Paw?! That's you!"

I took a shaky step towards him, making him flinch back. I collapsed forward, but before I could hit the tiles, I felt arms around me and the faint sound of sirens.

I awoke hours later, in the dead of night. Moonlight filtered into the room.

"…In earlier news, local Café, Café Mew Mew, was stated to have been attacked. Local witnesses said that six men, five armed with weapons and one with bandages over his face, entered the café." The anchor woman said, before it cut to a school girl. "I was so scared! It was like, really freaky! I saw a girl beat the guys up! She was like, really tough and cool!"

"Police arrived later, and collected the badly bruised and beaten thugs. Four unconscious and one with a gash. They will be arrested and charged for disruption of peace and gang violence. The girl, however, will be hailed as a local heroine, as she was not seen at the crime site. Café Mew Mew will be closed for an undefined amount of time." The t.v. was abruptly cut off.

"…That was brave, but reckless at the same time." A stern voice rang out from the dark room. I saw a pair of luminous blue eyes, before the person stepped into the moonlight. It was Ryou.

I looked away from him. "Yeah, well what was I gonna do? Let 'em kick my ass? You're nuts."

I got no response. I felt my head; there was a dome wrapping around.

"You had one bruised rib, a small gash on your scalp, and a deep scrape from when you kicked the brick. Your neck, however, is fine, but there will be a nasty bruise there." Ryou stated.

I sighed. "Thanks…and sorry. I'll leave." I attempted to exit the bed, but as I stood up, the world swirled uncomfortably, before I was once again caught.

Ryou stared at me; an unreadable expression on his face. I conceded defeat.

"…I'm kind of homeless." I murmured. Ryou, who was sitting with his back against the bed hummed. "I think there's an extra room up here…It's full of junk, but there IS a bed set up in there…" he remarked.

"…So who's bed is this?" I asked.

"Mine."

I folded my arm over my eyes. "Heh, you're something else. A Prince perhaps?" I teased.

"No, but maybe an unwanted Knight."

I stopped my light chuckling. "Yeah…night." I said before I rolled over and went to sleep.

'_Warm. It's so warm...Where am I? I don't care…It's so warm here, and bright. I want to stay here forever…ehh? What is that? It's so…bright.'_

I was floating; dreaming really. A white animal approached me. It was a tiger…

'_Ehh?' _

It jumped into me, then, all was black.

I awoke to the sunlight filtering into my room, and a slight pressure on my chest. I saw a gray cat, snoozing peacefully. I carefully picked the cat up and placed it in my warm spot.

I finally noticed that I was without clothing, but my duffle bag was posted in the room corner. I pulled out a pair of low rise jeans and a cut off shirt the spelled 'RAZE' on it. After I removed the bandages, I carefully combed my black-white streaked hair into a pony tail and walked out the room.

The café was empty, save for Ichigo and her friends, trying to clean up the place.

Her blue-haired friend was the first to notice me, and angrily stormed up to me.

"Just who exactly are you! You've got some nerve showing your face! You've basically destroyed our café, and quite possibly may have scared our customers away!" she hissed at me.

I looked away, an unpleasant scowl on my face, but a guilty look as well.

"Look, I'm sorry they came here and trashed the place. I didn't know the punk had goons and would basically stalk me here. But had I not kicked their asses, your café would be more than just trashed. It'd be a HQ for them. They won't dare come back however… Cocoa and Miho will make sure of that." I said, as I pulled out my cell and texted a few keys.

"Who are they?" Ichigo asked me.

"Just some old pals." I smirked.

"Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves at all!" The green-haired girl said, "I am Midorikawa Rettasu. You already know Ichigo; the girl who lectured you and is now drinking tea, she's Aizawa Minto. The other girl sitting across her is-" Rettasu said, but I interrupted her.

"Sorry to be rude, but I know her. Fujiwara Zakuro. I met her once when I was doing a bit of modeling for my mother."

Zakuro put her tea cup down. "Your mother, she was a famous singer…Midoyama Yumeno."

I bit my lip at the name. "Yeah."

The introductions continued, the little girl was named Purrin, and I found myself liking her energetic ways.

I helped in the clean up; taking out the bulky, heavier trash and moving the larger objects.

By midday, the café was completely clean; blood stains removed and debris disposed of. I laid on the clean tile, panting heavily.

"That took more outta me then I expected…" I huffed. Rettasu smiled.

"How is your hand, Taiga-san?"

I looked at the bandaged appendage.

"It's alright. My knuckles were split, but that's all." I reassured. Sitting up, and then pulling myself into a standing position, I wandered into thr kitchen, where Keiichiro was fixing something.

I sniffed the air. The scent of blueberry and stew tainted my senses.

"Making a blueberry pie and a stew for dinner, Keiichi?" I asked, as I leaned on one of the carts used for wheeling out sweets.

"You guessed it. The other girls have gone on home, but for Ryou, you and I, it's a beef stew, served over rice." He replied.

My stomach growled in anticipation. A thought flitted across my mind. "Speaking of, where is Ryou? I haven't seen him all day."

Keiichiro stopped stirring and looked at me quizzically, before answering. "Sometimes, he'll hole himself up in the study in the basement."

I nodded, and decided to head back upstairs. I just felt so tired. I made my way back into Ryou's room.

'_He'll show me the extra room when he comes up…' _Were my last thoughts before I passed out on his bed.

Kay so I got really bored and did this! Hope you like it…the shoujou stuff will happen later. And I'll have to explore Ryou, Rettasu and Taiga's relationships!

Bye byee!


	2. First Prey

It was hours later that I awoke. I noticed that I was no longer in Ryou's room; it smelt older, and less like Ryou. Puzzled, I sat up; I was moved into the spare room. Some of the boxes were moved, but a few remained. There was enough space for a little vanity to stand and a little bureau. I climbed out the bed and strode over to said bureau.

My orange duffel bag was inside, but empty; all of my clothes were hung up, and a gray—black maid uniform hung inside as well. I moved over to the vanity and opened the small drawer; my personal items were placed inside, while my bandages and cosmetics sat on the stand.

The bureau and vanity were clearly from a matching set, both were a dark shade of mahogany, adorned with gold-painted vines wrapping around the frames. It felt oddly girly to me, but anything to hold my belongings was welcomed.

"Do you like it?" a voice asked from the door. I glanced over to the sound, to find Keiichiro's smiling face at mine. He was holding a wrapped tray of food, presumably dinner.

He walked in and placed the tray on the small nightstand by the little bad. The stand and bed also matched the vanity and bureau.

I smirked. "S'not bad. If my mum saw this, she'd think I'd run off with some rich snobby boy and got hitched."

"Well, since you had missed dinner, I set aside some food for you. Ryou moved you in here. He was actually tidying up this space for you." Keiichiro explained, a small, gentle look placing itself in his eyes. I blinked.

"Maybe he isn't so bad." I muttered.

* * *

Keiichiro stayed with me; we chatted about our interests and I explained why those thugs were afraid of me. After finishing the meal and thanking him, he took the tray and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I stretched and heaved a satisfied sigh. I decided to do a little exploring and left the café through the window. I felt oddly light and did a few flips before landing on all fours. Confused, I righted my posture and went on with my little exploration. Tokyo was so different at night; less lights and less noise. I wandered for a while, before eventually making my way to the park. I sat down on the fountain and stared into it.

The moon was being reflected off the water in ripples. Various yen coins sat at the bottom. I was tempted to take a few, but my sense of better judgment told me not to. A few feet away, I heard a twig snap.

I jumped to my feet and clenched my fists. A quick jolt of pain flashed in my knuckles, but vanished shortly after.

"Who's there?" I barked. No response. A little testy and startled, I crept my way over to the sound. Usually, the park is pitch-black, but I could see clearly, as if there was enough light illuminating the area. The sound came from a bush and when I neared it, an alien-like creature lunged at me. I ducked, quickly turning around and seeing the thing stand tall. It looked like an elongated rat; its body was a sickly teal color, a long neck, a large body and a third eye centered in its forehead.

It swiped at me, but I back flipped out of the way, landing in a crouch. I snarled. It hissed back.

Just as the rat-monster began to charge at me, a gray cat strolled into its path way and sat there.

"What'er you stupid?! MOVE!" I screamed; the rat was looming over the cat, its attention focused on it. I leapt towards the cat. I grabbed it, but ended up gaining three large claw marks on my back. I was cradling the cat, but the pain in my back knocked the breath out of me. The cat squirmed out my arms and pushed a cool, metallic object into my hand. It felt oddly comforting.

I pushed myself into a sitting position, wincing all the while. The cat's blue eyes stared at me, as if urging me to do something with the metal object. My back was wet; blood already seeping out. I squeezed the pendant, before a small phrase escaped my lips.

"MEW MEW MERENGUE—METAMORPHIS!"

The gashes on my back suddenly healed themselves, along with my other injuries. Light flooded from the pendant, and wrapped around me; encasing me head to toe in bandages. They tightened, until they vanished, leaving me in some kind of gray-wrapped top, a gray-wrapped skirt with black biker shorts, bandages wrapping up from my forearm to my bicep bands, and a pair of white ribbons connecting from my skirt to the metal bangles on my wrists. My shoes were ankle height and had large cuffs on them. A white with black edges garter and choker appeared, with my pendant dangling from it. Two round, fuzzy ears popped from my head and a tail swished from behind me.

"…What the fuck? I swear this only happens in mahou shoujous!" I shouted angrily, causing the rat-monster to snap out of its daze. It spat a ray of acid at me, but I leapt out the way.

"Merengue Claws!" a pair of three-pronged claws appeared on both my wrists. I charged forward on all fours at the rat, pouncing at it and tackling it down, before swiping at it with my weapon. I managed a few swipes, before it threw me off. I landed in the fountain with a loud splash. My ears wiggled; trying to get the water off them.

"Fuckin' shit, how much energy do ya have?!" I cursed.

It hissed, and made several attacks at me. Some I dodged, others resulted in me being knocked back a couple of times.

'_Shit…I could really use help…' _I thought, before a purple beam and a blue arrow hit the rat, causing it to screech in pain.

A purple-clad girl and a blue-clad girl landed beside me. They had on a similar get ups as mine, only one sported dog-like features and the other bird-like ones.

"We came as fast as we could. For a girl who can take down a bunch of street punks, one anima should be cake with your ogre-like strength!" the blue one taunted teasingly.

"Minto, not now…" the purple one chided.

"No fuckin way. Fujiwara and Aizawa!? You're mahout shoujous too?!" I said.

"We are too!" Pudding's voice cheered. She, along with Ichigo and Rettasu and some other girl, in white, came next to me.

"We'll help you out! After all, our pendants blink when any of us are in danger!" Ichigo said.

Mint and Zakuro attacked again, while Rettasu and Pudding made a joint attack, immobilizing the rat. I decided to weaken it a bit more, by slashing at it several times, before upper-cutting it.

Ichigo and the other girl held rods in their hands.

"Ribbon Double Berry CHECK!" A pretty, pink beam flew from both rods, and hit the rat. The alien-parasite left its body and disintegrated in the light, the rat remained unhurt and scampered off.

I stood up. My claws faded away. I turned and faced the group. Pink, red, green, blue, yellow and purple eyes stared back.

"Well, that shit was wild. Does this happen often?" I asked. Ichigo spoke first.

"Well, it used to. Our old enemies had manipulated those little aliens. We call them Chimera Animas. They were used to fight us, in order to take over Earth. However, we managed to convince our old enemies to leave Earth alone, and they did, taking all the Chimera Animas with them. I'm not sure why this one is here. I know Kisshu wouldn't do that to any of us, which makes me think someone else is pulling the strings."

I scratched my ear. This made no sense, but something told me to trust what Ichigo said. I took a look around; the fountain was broken and water poured out of the basin, benches were broken, trash was strewn about everywhere, and the pavement was melted from the acid spray.

"Ichigo, you guys go on back home. I got this place…" I said, as I began running around; attempting to fix the place up slightly.

The other girls looked between each other, before nodding and de-transforming. They left me, after saying good-bye, and headed home.

I sighed.

"Damn it! Whoever planned this attack, I'm coming for yer ass!" I shouted into the night sky.


End file.
